OFFICE OF THE TEXTILE COMMISSIONER, MUMBAI
I.
ACTIVITIES
OF THE OFFICE OF THE TEXTILE COMMISSIONER.
The Office of the Textile
Commissioner was established in 1943 during the Second World War period, with
the objective of arranging and overseeing supply of cloth to the defence forces
as well as civilian population. After
the end of World War II, the Textile Commissioner was made responsible for administering the prices, distribution and
control of certain varieties of cloth meant for civilian consumption in the post-war conditions of
scarcity. After Independence and with
the promulgation of the Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951,
the role of this office acquired a developmental character. The Textile Commissioner is vested with
suitable powers under the various Orders issued under the provisions of the
Essential Commodities Act, 1955, in order to discharge his regulatory and
developmental functions. The Textile
Commissioner also oversees and assists the working of the various Export
Promotion Councils (EPCs) in order to promote the export of textile and
coordinate the export quota management by the Export Promotions Councils. The Textile Commissioner’s Office is also
the only data bank for all kinds of statistics related to textile
industry. The Textile Commissioner is
the principal technical advisor to the Government of India, Ministry of
Textiles. The Head Quarters of Textile
Commissioner’s Office is at Mumbai. It
has 8 regional offices located at Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Navi Mumbai, Calcutta,
Coimbatore, Kanpur, Chennai & Noida (Delhi). Besides there are 15 Powerloom Service Centres located at
Amritsar, Nagari, Burhanpur, Cuttack, Erode, Kishangarh, Gaya, Malegaon, Mau,
Ranaghat, Surat, Kannur & Jammu, Umergaon, Hyderabad.
The main functions of the Textile Commissioner’s Office are:-
1.
To
advise Government on all important aspects of the textile industry;
2.
To
examine the proposals for expansion/installation of additional spindleage and
to recommend licensing of new as well as additional capacity in cases where
licensing system continues to be applicable;
3.
To
assist in formulating and implementing Government policy on powerlooms;
4.
To
monitor the pattern of production, supply and distribution of textiles;
5.
To
collect and analyse statistical data regarding textile production, consumption
and export and to formulate policies thereon;
6.
To
help the industry secure adequate supplies of raw material and to recommend
application for import of textile machinery and spare parts;
7.
To
monitor the prices, production and distribution of yarn;
8.
To
look after all aspects of development of textile machinery industry;
9.
To
monitor the implementation of Textile Workers’ Rehabilitation Fund Scheme (TWRFS);
10.
To
oversee and assist in the working of various Export Promotion Councils in order
to increase the export of textiles;
11.
To
examine proposals relating to foreign collaboration and foreign technical
assistance;
12.
To
look after the various aspects of consumer protection relating to textile
industry;
13.
To
monitor the closure and sickness in the textile industry;
14.
To
prepare pre-budget memorandum to the Govt. based on the various recommendations
received from different textile industry associations for incorporation in the
budget proposal and to analyse the impact of the budget proposals and
recommendation for changes after the budget for submission to the Ministry of
Textiles for recommendation to the Ministry of Finance;
15.
To
provide vital inputs for formulation of important developmental/financial
schemes/plans like Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme for Textile & Jute
Industries, Technology Mission for Cotton, upgradation of testing laboratories/PSCs etc;
16.
To
oversea/monitor the implementation of various developmental schemes;
17.
To
co-ordinate the activities of PSCs and provide guidance to the TRAs who run
majority of the PSCs; and
18.
To
provide to the Govt. evaluation inputs on R. & D. proposals from TRAs for
govt. funding.
The work relating to the
above functions of the Textile Commissioner is carried out by its Head-quarters
Office, the Regional Offices and the Powerloom Service Centres. Purview of some of the important functions
of the Office of the Textile Commissioner is given below:-
Regulatory and Enforcement
Functions:
1. Textiles (Development &
Regulation) Order, 1993:
The Textiles (Development &
Regulation) Order, 1993 is issued by the Union Government under Section 3 of
the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. It
empowers the Textile Commissioner to issue directions regarding specifications
of cloth, yarn or other textile products, fixation of maximum or minimum
quantities of production prices, the manner of packing the yarn in hank,
cone or any other form and markings on
the cloth, yarn and other textile products for ensuring proper distribution and
maintenance of accounts.
2.
Textiles (Consumer Protection) Regulation, 1988:
These Regulations are issued by the Textile Commissioner under Textiles (Development & Regulation) Order, 1993, and provide for stamping fibre composition, date of manufacture, indication whether the cloth is damaged, defective or seconds and forbids storage or sale of yarn/cloth without statutory markings and stamping on face-plaits the name of manufacturer.
3. Hank
Yarn Obligation Scheme
As per the powers delegated to him under the T(D&R)O, 2001, the Textile Commissioner issues notifications, requiring the manufacturers of yarn to pack certain percentage of yarn packed by him for civil consumption during a particular period, in hank form. Such Notifications is issued to ensure adequate availability of hank yarn at reasonable price to the Handloom sector, one of the weakest section of the textile industry. Presently, Hank Yarn Packing Notification No. 2/TDRO/8/2003 dated 17/4/2003 is in force, which require every producer of yarn (manufactured wholly from cotton) to pack 40% of total yarn packed for civil consumption during each quarterly period, in hank form. Provided further that not less than 80% of the yarn required to be packed in hank form shall be in counts 40s and below. Certain category of yarn like hosiery yarn, sewing thread, industrial yarn, mixed yarn of various counts reeled from cop bottoms and yarn used for captive consumption are not coming under the purview of this Notification.
4. Cotton Control Order, 1986:
The Order empowers the Textile
Commissioner to regulate the stock holding of cotton by the processors of seed
cotton, manufacturers of yarn and traders and also to inspect, search and seize
cotton stocks, wherever necessary.
Whenever necessary, Textile Commissioner issues Notification to limit
the stock holding of the manufacturers, traders and/or cotton ginning and
pressing factories. This Control Order
also empowers the Textile Commissioner to call for periodical data of cotton
processing and stock holding for statistical and planning purposes.
5. Textiles Statistical Returns
Notification:
Textile Commissioner’s Office
functions as a Data Bank for the textile industry. In order to ensure regular flow of statistical information, the
Textile Commissioner issued Notification, according to which every producer or
manufacturer of man-made fibres, tops, yarns, cloth and other textile products,
has to furnish true and accurate information and statistics relating to their
units.
DEVELOPMENTAL FUNCTIONS
1.
Licensing and Registration.
This
office looks after the licensing system and offer Technical comments of the
Minister of Industry (SIA) in respect of the following:-
A)
100%
Export Oriented Units. (EOU)
B)
Units
in Export Promotion Zones (EPZ)
C)
Units
manufacturing items reserved for SSI sectors seeking to extent SSI limit with
intended Export obligations.
D)
Units
falling within 25km of the limits of city of more than 1 million population as
per 1991 census and located in industrial areas as such declare prior to 24th
July, 1991. (In accordance with the
Industrial policy of July, 1991, the scheme of exempted industrial Registration
(EIR) has been replaced by the industrial entrepreneur memorandum (IEM) to be
filed to SIA of Ministry of Industry.
Such memoranda are referred to this office by SIA for examination and
comments. These units are required to
submit the Information Memorandum (IM) to the office of the Textile Commissioner in accordance with
T(D&R) Order, 1993 along with SSI units.)
2.
Cotton and Raw Material
The cotton and raw material
needs of the country are monitored by this office. The cotton Advisory Board (CAB) under the chairmanship of Textile
Commissioner composed of members representing union agriculture and textile
ministries, the cotton growing states, marketing federations, cotton growers,
cotton trade associations, powerloom
and handloom sectors and ICMF. The CAB
prepares the cotton balance sheet and also makes an estimate of cotton crop
every year. The CAB also advises the
Government on all matters pertaining to production, consumption and marketing
of the cotton. The cotton division in
this office process the application for export quota of cotton. The other are material needs, their
availability, procurement, processing and development of new technologies
pertaining to new fibres are also monitored from this office. All the matters relating to Import and export
of these fibres, allotment of quota for furnace oil and LPG are also handled in
this office.
3. Development of Powerloom Sector:
Production
of cloth as well as generation of employment have been rapidly increasing in
the powerloom sector. This sector not
only contributes significantly to the cloth production in the country but also
provides employment to millions of people.
During 1995-96, the production of cloth, in the decentralised powerloom
sector was 17,201 million sq.mtrs. while employment generation was 6.92
million. During 1998-99 the
corresponding figures were 20,552 million sq.mtrs., & 4.05 million
respectively. The powerloom industry
produces a wide variety of cloth, both grey as well as coloured with intricate
designs. The contribution of powerloom
sector in the total cloth production of the country is to the extent of 56.77%
excluding the cloth produced by non-SSI, weaving and hosiery/knitting
units. Powerloom fabric also
successfully competes in the global market and contributes significantly in the
export earnings of the country.
Modernisation
assistance to the Powerloom sector :
Inspite of the basic strength (strong
fibre and production base) of the Indian Textile Industry, we have not been
able to increase our share in the global market for textiles and clothing
beyond 3.0%. With the scheduled dismantling
of quantitative restrictions of the MFA and the consequent globalisation of the
market in textiles and clothing, our industry will naturally be exposed to
stiff competition in markets abroad. It
is imperative, therefore, for the Indian Textile Industry to take urgent steps
to bridge the existing technological gap, in order to make the quality of our
textiles comparable to products from our major competitors. This gap is most visible in the weaving and
processing sectors. The powerloom
sector, which accounts for a major protion of the cloth produced in the
country, suffers from a woeful lack of modernisation.
In view of the urgent need for
modernisation of the Weaving & Processing sectors of the Textile Industry,
Govt. Of INDIA has set up a Technology Upgradation Fund (TUF) for the Textile
Industry.
Considering the felt need to
upgrade technology in different segments of the textile industry, Government of
India has launched a Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) for textile and
jute industry w.e.f. 01.04.1999 for a period of 5 years, i.e. upto 31st
March 2004. There is no cap on funding
under this scheme. It is an open-ended
scheme depending on the capacity of the industry to absorb funds in bankable
and techno-economically feasible proposals.
Technology levels are benchmarked in terms of specified machinery for
each sector of the textile industry.
Machinery with technology levels lower than that specified will not be
permitted for funding under the TUF Scheme.
The
details of the scheme are as under: -
i)
The
scheme provides a reimbursement of 5%
point on the interest charged by the lending agency on a project of technology
upgradation in conformity with this scheme.
ii)
The
identified sectors in the textile industry, viz., cotton ginning &
pressing, spinning, silk reeling & twisting, wool scouring & combing,
synthetic filament yarn texturising, crimping and twisting, manufacturing of
viscose filament yarn (VFY), weaving/knitting including non-wovens and
technical textiles, garments, made-up manufacturing, processing of fibres,
yarns, fabrics, garments and made-ups and the jute sector are eligible to avail
of these concessional loans for their technology upgradation requirements. Investments in common infrastructure or
facilities by an industry association, trust or co-operative society and other
investments specified are also eligible for funding under the scheme.
iii)
IDBI
is the nodal agency for textile industry excluding SSI sector and SIDBI is the
nodal agency for SSI textile sector and cotton ginning and pressing sector.
IFCI is the nodal agency for the jute industry. IDBI has co-opted 65 financial institutions comprising of 3 AIFIs, Exim Bank, 15 scheduled commercial bank and 46 SFCs / SIDCs / Twin
Function IDCs. SIDBI has co-opted 130 financial institutions comprising of 81
scheduled commercial banks, 2 co-operative banks, Exim Bank, and 46 SFCs /
SIDCs / Twin function IDCs.
iv)
Loans
under the scheme are extended by the nodal agencies/co-opted institutions to
the identified segments of the industry for the projects in conformity with the
scheme from their own resources. Government funding is limited to reimbursement
of interest at 5% point on the interest charged by the lending agency on a
project of technology upgradation in conformity with the scheme.
v)
Progress
of TUFS till 28.2.2000 : Annexure enclosed.
To
assist the Powerloom sector towards Modernisation/Renovation under refinance
facility scheme, Government of India in the MOT had formulated a scheme for
modernisation of plain Powerlooms and have urged that the requisite bank
finance may be made available under the scheme. NABARD has since decided to
extend refinance support for the modernisation of powerlooms as envisaged in
the government of India Scheme. The
broad terms and conditions for seeking refinance from NABARD for financing
under this scheme will be those as are applicable under the General Refinance
Scheme. However, NABARD vide their
circular No. 25/95-96 dtd. 09.10.95 have made the following
modifications/relaxations in the above scheme.
a)
In
addition to the cost of looms with accessories and installation expenses,
investment on other essential items including workshed, working capital for
operating cycle etc. may form part of the project outlay, provided the scheme
is otherwise technical feasible and financially viable.
b)
The
ceiling of 4 looms stipulated under the scheme for individuals may be relaxed
on merits of each case and the number of looms per individuals borrower be decided by the financing bank
depending upon the need, managerial capability of the borrower and bankability
of the project.
Workshed-cum-housing
scheme for powerloom weavers :
In the powerloom sector, the
improvement in the place of work is an important infrastructural support for
the weaver. An improved workshed or
house-cum-workshed provides better work environment, more space, improves
working hours and enables installation of improved looms. Keeping this in view, the government has in
principle decided to implement the workshed-cum-housing scheme with an
estimated investment of about RS. 270 crore during IX Five Year Plan
period. The scheme is yet to be
started.
4. Export Promotion:
This office deals with deals
with all activities related to promotion of textile export.
The Textile Commissioner is the
Chairman of the Enforcement Committee (E.C.) constituted under quota policy,
and staff committee of AEPC, ISEPC and PDEXCIL. The Enforcement Committee examines cases of mis-declaration and
fraudulent action on the part of exporters for appropriate debarment and legal
action. The appeals on the forfeiture
of BG/EMD for non-fulfilment of export obligation are heard by senior officers’
appellate committee constituted by the Textile Commissioner.
5. Monitoring the availability and the
prices of hank yarn:
This office monitors availability and
prices of hank yarn which is the main input of the widely dispersed rural based
handloom textile sector. The hank yarn
price monitoring committee meets regularly at every quarter and discusses
actions to be taken to ensure that the hank yarn is made available to the
handloom weavers in adequate quantity at a reasonable price.
6. Information and administration:
Economic & Statistics Division
which consists of sections like Statistics, Costing, Prices and monitoring,
survey and computer cell, handles all work relating to collection of data,
compilation, analysis and interpretation.
This office is a single most important source of data to the government
as well as to the industry. The ERMIU has been set up in this office with an
objective to built-up comprehensive & reliable national & international
data base and to analyse & interpret such data for making timely forecast
of trends in production, consumption, prices etc. The ERMIU has been made operational with latest computer
facilities.
This office also monitors the sick
Textile units and liaisons with RBI, commercial banks, Financial institutions
and BIFR in the context of re-habilitation of sick textile units. Monitoring the progress of Textile
units under Textile Modernisation
Funds Scheme (TUFS), cost studies of
specific textile items and the survey of particular segments of the textile
industry, publication of journals containing textile statistics on yearly basis
are some of other functions looked after by the Economic and Statistic
divisions in this office.
7. Textile Workers’
Rehabilitation Fund Scheme (TWRFS).
The Scheme was
formulated in 1986 as the part of Textile Policy of 1985 by the Ministry of
Textiles, to provide interim relief to the Textile mill workers of closed
textile mills earning wages not exceeding RS. 2,500/- per month. This scheme is administered by the textile
commissioner and the workers are provided relief for the period of 3 years on
tapering basis to tide over their unemployment and consequential financial
constraints till they find alternative avenue of income.
8. Consumer Protection
Measures.
Consumer awareness
programmes and campaigns are taken up in the various part of the country in
collaboration with textile committee and voluntary organisations. Quality and price parameters of the textile
items manufactured, traded and imported are monitored. The consumer are made aware of their rights
and environment as well as health aspect of the textiles.
The office of the Textile Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles,
Government of India and the Office of the Textile Committee, a statutory Body under the administrative
control of the Ministry of Textiles, are jointly organising/conducting seminars, symposia etc., in various parts of
the country from time to time in order to make the general public, textile manufacturers,
processors, traders, wholesalers, semi-wholesalers, cutting and packing houses,
shops and establishment holders, retailers and stockists, etc, to be aware of
and comply with/follow the provisions
and directions of the markings/stamping Regulations. The consumers have a right to be informed
about the quality parameters and other essential information of all textile
items from the angle of consumer
protection concept. Therefore, this
office had conducted 53 Consumer Awareness Meetings all over the country to
make the people aware of their rights as well as environment and health aspects
of the textiles.
9.
Planning and budgeting inputs:
Economic and statistics division of this office handles all work
relating to collection, compilation, analysis and interpretation of data
pertaining to textile industry. It also
examines pre-budget representations from various textile industrial
associations regarding tax structure and concessions and sends its comments to
the Minister of textiles. In respect of
textile machinery, it sends comments to the ministry of industry.
10. Other developmental
activities:
In addition to the
functions of the Textile Commissioner's Office enumerative above, the following
activities/aspects will be worth noting.
a)
The
Textile Commissioner and the Senior Officers in the Head Office, spend more
than 95 to 98% of their time on developmental activities and only a few
officers who supervise the work of regional offices spend a little more time
(may be, 5 to 7%) on supervision of such work.
b)
The
Textile Commissioner and his officers spend a substantial part of the time in
taking up various issues and problems raised by the industry and trade with the
ministry or other authorities as facilitators.
c)
This
office provides all technical, fiscal, trade and production related inputs to
the Ministries of Textiles, Industry, Commerce and Finance as and when
required.
d)
The
Textile Commissioner's office is being now fully involved with the coordination
among the TRAs, compilation of their research results, dissemination thereof to
the industry and generally assisting the TRAs in upgrading their research
facilities and problem solving capabilities.
e)
Taking
up awareness campaigns and organising seminars for educating the textile industry
in general and the decentralised sectors viz, powerloom, processing, knitting
and garment sectors in particular about the implications of the WTO, open
competition and the need for technology upgradation, quality improvement etc.,
during 1998, 38 consumer awareness programme were conducted. During 1999, 29 TUFs seminar, 15 Consumer
awareness programmes and 3 technical seminars on ITMA (textile machinery
technology) were conducted. 20 more
consumer awareness seminars and 5 to 6 TUFS seminars will be held till March,
2000. The Ros are fully involved in
these programmes.
II. Activities
Of The Regional Offices of Textile Commissioner
The
Textile Commissioner has its field offices called the Regional offices located
at 8 places in the country viz. Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Calcutta, Chennai,
Coimbatore, Kanpur, Mumbai and Noida (Delhi).
The functions of the Regional offices are
1.
Monitoring
the progress of the implementation of installed capacity granted.
2.
Administration
and implementation of import and export policy and procedures.
3.
Monitoring
the fulfilment of hank yarn obligation by the mills
4.
Implementation
of consumer protection regulations.
5.
Handling
court matters on behalf of Textile commissioner and Ministry of Textiles.
6.
Monitoring
closure and re-opening of mills.
7.
Processing
of applications with regard to eligibility and disbursement of funds under
Textiles Workers Re-habilitations Funds (TWRF) Scheme.
8.
Attending
complaints of consumers relating to mills and powerloom industry.
9.
Overall
supervision of powerloom Service Centres located in geographical jurisdiction
of the regional office.
10.
Supporting,
counselling and facilitating the decentralised textile sectors, such as
powerlooms and small processors, for taking up TUF scheme, quality upgradation,
promoting exports.
11.
Undertaking
periodic surveys, census or studies, compiling and updating on the textile
industry from time to time.
12.
Instead
of routinely implementing stamping regulations, educating small manufactures
and traders about the need for and method of complying with the legal
requirements.
13.
Providing
feed back to the Head office and/or to the ministry on various issues raised or
problems faced by the industry and seeking solutions thereto.
With
the liberalisation of industry, the Regional offices are assuming the role of
guide to the development and modernisation of Textile industry, rather than the
policing job. Officers of the Regional
offices have been advised that they should visit more and more modern units in
the private sector and acquaint themselves with the latest technology, and
thereafter they should assume the role of a guide for the new enterpreneurs/consumers. The Regional
offices have started conducting seminars/workshops/mill visits etc., in this
direction. The Textile commissioner has
directed to all field officers to be proactive and solve the problems of
industry and general public with persuation and perseverance.
III.
Activities Of The Powerloom Service Centres
.
The
objectives of the Powerloom Service Centres have been broad-based as below :
(a) To
impart practical training and skill to powerloom weavers and those who are
interested in taking to this vocation to help them acquire the requisite knowledge
and skill in weaving to improve their efficiency and skill in producing better
quality clothes and in stepping up their productivity;
(b) To
impart training in the various aspects of loom working, loom maintenance and
tuning, loom repairs and servicing;
(c) To
disseminate knowledge and techniques to powerloom weavers by visiting groups of
such weavers on certain fixed days of every month, in increasing productivity
and efficiency, reducing wastage and minimising cloth damage at minimum
possible costs;
(d) To
guide the powerloom weavers about modernisation, the manner in which they may
go about it and the agencies which they may approach for financial assistance
for it;
(e) To
carry out an annual survey to collect and compile statistical information on
the number of powerloom units and looms and also on the number of powerlooms
modernised and to make an assessment of the effect of such modernisation on
production, productivity and quality of the products of the units;
(f) To
guide the powerloom weavers in marketing their products, including availing
themselves of the export opportunities;
(g) To
provide testing facilities to the powerloom sector;
(h) To
conduct Seminars/Workshops and organise exhibitions for the benefit of the
powerloom sector;
(i) To
co-ordinate the powerloom development activities with the State Government
Authorities;
(j) To
act as an agent to transmit the problems of the powerloom sector to appropriate
quarters for solving them;
(k) To
provide technical consultation facility by rendering technical service; and
(l) To
advise and guide powerloom units in design development and diversification of
activities so as to facilitate their achieving economy in the scale of
operations.
******************